All posts tagged pain

A study of 11,000 patients at Stanford hospitals and clinics found that, given similar medical conditions, women report more intense pain than men do.

Current treatment protocols make no sex-based distinctions concerning medication to alleviate pain. but this study suggests that gender ought to be taken into consideration.

Studies had reported conflicting results on this question, but at least some observers think this report is the definitive one. “In my mind, it puts the story to bed forever,” Jeffrey Mogil, a pain expert at McGill University in Montreal, who was not involved in the study, told the San Jose Mercury News.

Most of the differences were small (though statistically significant), but in a few instances, including hernia and high-blood pressure, they were as large as one point on a 10-point scale.

Observers rate the pain of unpleasant people as lower than that of likeable people, a new study finds.

Researchers had 40 people looked at head shots of patients, all of whom had shoulder problems, paired with adjectives that were positive, neutral, or negative (“honest,” “reserved,” or “arrogant,” for example). They then watched clips of the patients undergoing physiological examination, in which the patients manifested no pain, moderate pain, or severe pain.

The observers then rated the pain’s intensity by marking a spot on a visual scale 100 millimeters long.

In the case of high-intensity pain, the participants rated the pain of “disliked” patients as lower than that of the other patients—on the order of 7 points lower, on the 100-point scale….

Biographies

Gary Rosen is the editor of Review and the former managing editor of Commentary magazine. His articles and reviews have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times. He is the author of "American Compact: James Madison and the Problem of Founding" and the editor of "The Right War? The Conservative Debate on Iraq."